I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm also doing the most important thing a man can do: I'm listening to what I needed to hear from myself.
Paulo CoelhoRead
I think bridges have a special meaning in our life. I think a book is a bridge. Any type of art is a bridge that allows different cultures to connect. You may not understand your neighbour's way of seeing life, but you sure understand your neighbour's joy in painting or dancing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Bridges symbolize connection, and books and art help us understand diverse cultures and experiences.
In this quote, Paulo Coelho emphasizes the significance of bridges as symbols of connection in our lives. He expresses the idea that just like physical bridges, books and various forms of art serve as conduits, allowing individuals from different cultures to engage and connect emotionally, even if they don't fully grasp each other's perspectives on life. Through shared artistic expressions, we can appreciate and relate to the universal emotions of joy and creativity that transcend cultural barriers.
Themes
BridgesArtCultureConnectionUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of cultural exchange and understanding.
More from Paulo Coelho
All quotes βEach stone, each bend cries welcome to him. He identifies with the mountains and the streams, he sees something of his own soul in the plants and the animals and the birds of the field.
Paulo CoelhoRead
We need to clear our minds of bad thoughts.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God.
Paulo CoelhoRead
The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants
Paulo CoelhoRead
Sometimes the Warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Similar quotes
One of the things that I tell beginning writers is this: If you describe a landscape, or a cityscape, or a seascape, always be sure to put a human figure somewhere in the scene. Why? Because readers are human beings, mostly interested in human beings. People are humanists. Most of them are humanists, that is.
Kurt VonnegutRead
The act of creation is a kind of ritual. The origins of art and human existence lie hidden in this mystery of creation. Human creativity reaffirms and mystifies the power of 'life.
Keith HaringRead
Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice. Being part of that dialogue meant not only sitting at the table but effectively telling the African story from an African perspective - in full earshot of the world.
Chinua AchebeRead
Good cinema is what we can believe, and bad cinema is what we can't believe.
Abbas KiarostamiRead
You are just as qualified as any expert to make a judgment and have a feeling or a response to any work of art.
Bill ViolaRead
In a way, writing is an incredible act of individualism, producing your language, and yet to use it from the heart of a crowd as opposed to as an individual performance is a conflicting thing. I do stand alone, and yet it's not about being an individual or being ambitious.
Arundhati RoyRead